The Change in Him
by Fading Ashes
Summary: Gone was the bully who taunted people mercilessly. Replaced by a sweet and weird-humored boy. The change in Draco shocked everyone. HGDM


**Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling last time I checked.**

**A/N: I would kindly like to remind people that if u hv nothing nice to say, better not say it at all. Thanx and please review~**

The war was finally over. And students of Hogwarts returned to finish their years, and those included：Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Draco.

Hermione had matured a lot. Her bushy hair had surprisingly softened into glossy wavy brown pools of silk. Her eyes were still their beautiful hazel color, owlish and curtained by thick eyelashes. Her skin the same creamy shade, though the foul word _Mudblood_ had been carved into her arm, thanks to the one and only Bellatrix Lestrange. To say that Hermione had grown into a gorgeous young lady was the understatement of the year.

Ginny was a new addition to their group, because she normally hanged out with the girls in her year. And now, she had become Hermione's best girl friend and the two of them were so close she was almost sisters with the brunette. Of course, her hair was still as fiery as ever, and her blue eyes usually dazzling with mischief.

Ron was still the same troublemaker, and of course, his sweet tooth remained. He had been hurt when Hermione broke off their relationship, but he soon recovered when he came to realize that what they used feel for each other was just a silly school crush. Let's just say that Ron had a long and happy life in front of him.

Harry, of course, had never stopped being the wise and kind person he always was. Even though he had made some bad mistakes in the past, the war had taught him something. And that something was to give Draco a brand new chance to prove himself worthy.

The change in Draco shocked everyone. Gone was the bad tempered git. Gone was the bully who taunted people mercilessly. Gone was the prejudiced bastard that believed in the muggleborn bullshit. Gone was the cold and mean boy. Replaced by a sweet and weird-humored boy. Replaced by a seventeen years old boy that wasn't afraid to stand up for himself. Replaced by a boy that wasn't afraid to show his emotions. Replaced by a selfless boy that cared about other people other than himself. Replaced by a boy that became best friends with The-boy-who-just-wouldn't-die, Weaslette, Weaselbee, and Beaver. Definition: Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Even though Hermione's teeth was now pearly-white and perfect, Draco never failed to remind her of the time when he hexed her so her teeth became abnormally large. As a comeback, Hermione called him Ferret, reminding him of the time when he got turned into a white ferret by one Alastor Moody. Oh, and not to forget, also replaced by a boy who fell in love with Hermione. It was so obvious to everybody except the witch herself. When it came to boys and relationships; she made people wonder why they coined her as the "Brightest witch of her age".

"Beaver!" Draco called down to her from his branch in the Sycamore tree. The five of them which included Draco, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny was sitting on random branches on the tree. Hermione was thinking, and the other four was chatting.

"Beaver!" Draco called again before rolling his eyes. He looked at Harry, who gave an amused smile, and shook his head exasperatedly. How could Hermione not hear him? He was sitting on the highest branch, Hermione below him, Harry to Draco's right, Ginny below Hermione, and Ron to Ginny's right. She was either deaf, or was just ignoring him, or maybe doing too much thinking again.

"Beaver!" Unknown to him, his voice was drowned by her flood of her thoughts. _What's happening to me?! _The mind of Hermione shrieked, _why can't I stop thinking about him?!_ Unknown to him, his feelings for her was returned. Unknown to her, her feeling for him was returned, too. Unknown to them, Harry, Ginny, and Ron all knew. _Why must he look so bloody handsome?! _Hermione continued shrieking in her mind, _what if he doesn't love me back? _She never knew what attracted her to Draco. Sure, he was handsome. Sure, he was funny. Sure, he was sweet. Sure, he was sarcastic. Sure he wa-

"Hermione!" Draco, who had decided that he has had enough, had hooked his legs to the branch and muttered a spell so he wouldn't slip off, he had then lowered the upper part of his body down until he was hanging like a bat right beside the oblivious brunette. He had admired her beauty and graceful stance before snapping himself back to reality and shouted her name right in her ear.

Hermione, shocked and startled by the sudden outburst, squeaked and tumbled down from her branch, narrowly missing a giggling Ginny, and fell to the leaf-littered ground.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny clung to their branches tightly from falling to the ground while laughing heartily. Draco, thanks to the sticking spell, could laugh as hard as he wanted without falling from the branch. And to say that his laughter was the loudest was an understatement. The sight of Hermione glaring up at them, lying on the ground with a leaf on her head was so comical that they just couldn't stop laughing.

"Are you quite done?" Hermione huffed, which only caused them to laugh harder. But their laughter instantly died when they sighted Astoria, Pansy, and Daphne walking up to the now alert brunette.

"Pleasant seeing you here." Astoria said in a clipped tone. And the people up the tree relaxed, although not without failing to notice that Hermione still remained stiff and in the same position: Sitting cross-legged on the ground, the leaf still sitting innocently on her head.

"And now you can start polishing my shoes, _Mudblood._" Astoria sneered while her friend and her sister started chanting, "Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood…"

Seconds later, the gang had four wands aiming at them. The ones in the tree had climbed down with inhuman speed, and was now flanking Hermione with their wands drawn.

Astoria gulped but did not back away; instead, she opened her foul mouth and said sweetly, "Draco, how could you side up with the Mudblood?"

A flash of rage slashed through Draco's eyes, making him see red.

"We could have been a happy couple; you wanna relieve your stress with me, Draco?" She had the nerve to spread out her arms for an inviting hug and wiggle her eyebrows suggestively. Ron and Harry had to hold Draco back from ripping Astoria's limbs apart, not that they would have minded but they didn't want to be expelled.

Draco shook Ron and Harry off and snarled, "Don't you _ever_ call her the M-word again! Why would I want to be with you, Greengrass? You foul mouthed bitc-!"

Hermione reached from behind and covered his mouth, causing some saliva to spray her hands. She wrinkled her nose and wiped her palms on her sapphire-blue sundress. She pushed her way in front of her friends and faced Astoria and her group. When Daphne and Pansy saw Hermione stepping up to them, they were clever enough to back away; after all, Hermione hadn't been coined as the "Brightest witch of her age" for nothing. But Astoria wasn't so clever, instead, she scoffed and sneered at Hermione, "You should be bowing down to me, Mudblood."

Hermione saw it coming; she waved her wand and froze Ginny, Harry, Draco, and Ron from lunging forward. She squared her shoulders and set her jaw, "You're right. I'm a Mudblood-," Astoria gave a smug smirk, "-, and I'm proud of it." Her smirk faded.

"WHAT?!" Pansy cried shrilly while Daphne's jaw dropped.

"You have ears, use them." Hermione was the one who smirked this time.

"I'm a Mudblood, and I'm proud of it." Without giving them a chance to say anything, she carried on, "I wonder if you have ever stopped to think about your actions. Do you ever stop to think about others? Ever tried to see in other's point of view?" She forced a smirk, "Don't know why you waste your life living on bullshit when you have other reasons and ways to live."

Hermione lashed her wand and her friends unfroze.

"Come on, I don't want my time wasted on people not worthy to be in my presence."

Her friends hesitated, still wanting to beat the living daylights outta Astoria and her gang. But one firm glare from Hermione made them stride after her.

"This isn't over, Greengrass." Draco hissed at Astoria as he passed her. To piss her off even more, he ran up to Hermione and slung an around her waist, not noticing Harry exchanging knowing looks with Ron and Ginny.

They didn't stop walking until they reached their favorite spot beside the lake. They all sat down on the grass and made themselves comfortable.

"That was some great ass kicking back there, 'Mione." Ron grinned to lighten up the mood.

"You should have seen Greengrass's face! Priceless!" Harry added with a chuckle.

"Hermione." All heads whipped to Draco, "Please don't call yourself the M-word again. Reminds me of the fact that I made your life hell for almost seven years at Hogwarts." He locked his mercurial eyes with her hazel orbs.

Hermione sighed and nodded, drawing lazy circles on the grass with the tips of her fingers, she stared at the Great Squid who was doing stunts across the lake. She lied back and folded her arms behind her head, and stared up at the azure sky.

"But I am one." She murmured.

"No you're not!" Draco sat up straight and said firmly, "You're a muggleborn, not a M-word."

Hermione, grateful for his support and loyalty, sat up and swung her arms around his neck and gave him a soft hug. She failed to see his cheeks darken into a shade of pink. Faster than he would have liked, she dropped her arms back and lied back again, staring up at the wispy clouds drifting across the sky. She closed her eyes and sighed in contentment; she rested her head on her folded hands and curled into a sleeping position that resembled a cat. Within a few minutes, she fell asleep.

Draco heard a chuckle from Ginny. He turned around and saw her shaking her head in amusement. She lowered her voice so she wouldn't wake Hermione, "You've got it bad, real bad, Draco."

Draco, horrified, stammered frantically, "Wh-what the hell, Weaselette?" He threw his hands up in feigned disbelief, "Where in Merlin's pants did you get those stupid ideas?" He gushed out in a hushed tone.

Ginny wrinkled her nose, "I didn't get them anywhere from Merlin's pants. But I got those from the way I observe people."

"You creepy, freaky, no good stalker!" He cried in outrage.

"I do not stalk people!" Ginny mocked offense, "I was merely observing!" Her voice took on a higher note.

Meanwhile...

Hermione was having a nightmare. She was comfortably sitting on her bed, staring up at the blue ceiling that seemed too blue to be a ceiling when she realized that there was no ceiling at all. Her room didn't have a ceiling. So she was gazing up at the sky. She was about to grab the remote control and turn on the television when she heard voices. To her horror, an albino ferret and a flame red-furred she-weasel entered her room. They had sharp fangs, and their tails lashed up and down, claws unsheathed. To Hermione's shock, they were speaking human language. The ferret opened its mouth and said something about what he saw when he peeked down Merlin's pants. Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust. Then the she-weasel retorted something back about something like spying people when they're taking showers. Hermione rubbed her throat to keep the bile down. Then the ferret and the weasel started to squeal shrilly, their squeals got louder and louder until she couldn't bear it anymore. She woke up with a jolt.

Draco stared at Hermione who had suddenly jolted from her sleep.

"You okay?" Draco asked her, glaring at Ginny.

"I'm fine, I guess." She replied with a shrug.

Ginny stared at her guiltily and said, "I'm sorry for waking you up, 'Mione."

Hermione gazed at her with surprise etched on her angelic features, "Ginny, don't feel bad about it, it wasn't your fault." She reassured her, before lying back on the grass again.

"Where did Ron go?" Harry asked, looking around for his red-haired friend.

"Oh, probably around for a walk." Ginny had a strange look on her face as she answered, "Oh Harry, can you please come with me to the Quidditch Pitch to practice Quidditch, please?" She widened her eyes and gave him her famous puppy-face. Harry suddenly found him blushing scarlet and grabbing Ginny's hand and bounding to the Quidditch Pitch. But before they left, Ginny turned around and gave Draco a wink and a little wave.

Draco growled deep in his throat, that red-haired she-weasel planned it all!

"Ferret?" Hermione asked, a little bit scared, "Why do you like someone had eput chili sauce instead of sugar in your coffee?"

Draco stared at her, finding her scared expression ridiculously adorable. Her hazel eyes were large and mesmerizing, now he was close up, he could make out vivid golden flecks swimming around the chocolate brown pools.

"Um…Hello?" Hermione knocked the side of Draco's head, earning her a soft thud, "Anyone there?"

Draco winced and slapped her hand gently away from his head, "Ow woman! That spot is tender and sensitive!"

"Thanks for the info, I'll make sure to hit harder next time." Hermione said dryly.

Draco mock scowled and said cheekily, "No you won't." He reached for her hand and pulled her up into a sitting position. "You're gonna miss me and cry floods of tears if I end up in St Mungo's."

Hermione stuck out her tongue, ever the mature teen, and said, "Sadly, that's true."

"Ha! I always suspected you had secret desires for me!" He cried with glee, "Thank you for confirming them!"

"What?!" Hermione threw up her hands in disbelief and blushed, "I don't!"

"Oh yes you so do!"

"I don't"

"You do.

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You-," He leaned close to her face, "-totally-," He cupped her right cheek, which instantly warmed up and darkened into a lovely shade of pink to his smugness, "-do. He looked into her beautiful eyes and captured her lips into a sweet but firm kiss. She was shocked at first, but eventually pressed back with the same eagerness. Draco liked the taste of her lips; she tasted of warm chocolate and sweet grapes. _Peppermints and apples peppermints and apples peppermints and apples…_Hermione repeated the words in her head giddily as he took away his hand on her cheek and replaced it on the back of her head and pressed her closer to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders, melting softly into him, she could have stayed that way forever, but they still had to breathe.

They pulled apart reluctantly, wanting that moment to last forever. They stared at each other, faces flushed and both breathing heavily. Draco was the one who broke that silence, "Thanks for confirming them again."

Hermione blushed, and then quickly pressed her lips to his again, he responded instantly, then Hermione pulled back way too soon for Draco and grinned cheekily at him, "What were you saying about secret desires again?"

Draco mock glared but it was quickly replaced by the serious expression on his handsome face, "Hermione, I have something to ask you."

"Well spit it out then."

Draco took a deep breath and flashed her genuine smile that knocked her breath away, "Do you accept the honor of being my girlfriend?"

"Uh I-I-," Hermione stuttered and took deep breathes to keep her nerves at bay.

"I what?" Draco prompted.

"I do!" She gushed out, her owlish eyes shining with mirth and excitement.

Draco stood up and pulled her to her feet; he grinned and swept her into a soft hug. As he nuzzled into her glossy curls, he heard Ron's dazed voice, "Was that your wedding vows?"

They sprang apart, but still held hands.

"Of course not, Ron." Hermione said, a lovely blush on her cheeks. "I only agreed to be his girlfriend."

"About time." Ginny said from behind Ron, "Seriously, Draco?" She snorted in an un-ladylike fashion, "If you asked me, that was lame."

"But I _didn't _ask you." Draco glared at her.

Harry popped out from behind Ginny, "So the Gryffindor Princess and the Ferret King's hearts are now entwined?"

"Harry," Hermione shook her head in amusement, "You sound like Shakespeare."

They hadn't realized that night was incoming until they spotted the first few stars visible against the dark purplish-blue sky, the moon peeked out from the grey wisps of clouds. As they say, "Time flies."

Harry encircled his right arm around Ginny's waist and headed towards the Great Hall for dinner.

Ron jogged up to Harry and started a conversation about breaking the Gryffindor record of eating 100 pancakes within five minutes.

Draco reached for Hermione's small hand and entwined his fingers with hers. Hermione smiled contently as she laid her head on Draco's shoulder and let him guide her to the Great Hall.

"You know what I'm thinking, Beaver?" Draco murmured, bending to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Hmm, let me guess." Hermione feigned a thoughtful expression and stroked her imaginary beard with her free hand, making Draco chuckle. "Thinking about how good you would have looked if you have worn a bra when you got turned into a ferret?"

Draco wrinkled his nose as the disturbing image sank into his mind, "That's gross."

"That's the point." Hermione shot cheekily back.

"I was actually thinking about how long we would last." He confessed.

Hermione stopped walking and tilted her head to face him; she leaned in on her toes and placed her lips to his. A tingle warmed her lips, dancing through her skin until it reached her heart.

She pulled away and stared into Draco's dazed mercurial eyes. "Felt that?"

"Of course." He replied with a smile.

"If you feel that tingle every time we kiss," Hermione said slowly, "Then you will know we will last for that day." She averted her gaze and started walking again, "If you don't feel that tingle anymore, then you will know that it's time for us to end and find a new life."

Draco said firmly, "As long as I live, I swear that I will never lose that tingle."

Hermione stopped and met his gaze once more, her eyes shining with happiness, and her heart didn't feel like it was in her chest anymore, it felt like it was soaring amongst the stars with the birds. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes," Draco met her gaze, unwavering. She searched for any hints of doubts or lies amongst his orbs of mercury, and she found none. "We were meant to be." He finished with a squeeze to her hand.

With a content smile on both of their faces, they headed for the Great Hall. The only sounds were the thumps of their footsteps thudding against the same rhythm of their heartbeats.

_**~*~*~*FIN*~*~*~**_


End file.
